Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York

Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (5 June 1341-1 August 1402) was the fourth surviving son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was the founder of the House of York, and he was the father of Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge and Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York.

Biography
Edmund of Langley was born in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England on 5 June 1341, the fourth surviving son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Edmund was the founder of the House of York, a cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet, with his younger son Richard of Conisburgh later acquiring a claim to the throne. Edmund took part in several military expeditions to France during the 1370s, and he campaigned in Brittany and Angouleme while commanding 400 men-at-arms and 400 archers alongside John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. In 1381, he took part in an invasion of Castile to support John of Gaunt's claim to the throne, and he was forced to lead his malcontented troops home after an indecisive campaign. In 1376, he was made Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports, and he acted as Keeper of the Realm from 1394 to 1395 as his nephew, Richard II of England, campaigned in Ireland. Edmund decided to join Henry Bolingbroke when he invaded England, and he was rewarded for his loyalty. He died in 1402.